The Moderators is a Hunter Organization.
Overview[]
Not every man or woman who hears the Heralds' message responds to the supernatural terrors that haunt the night. Some people, known as bystanders in hunter circles, simply freeze with indecision when confronted with the greater, horrifying truth the Messengers reveal. These people are shepherded to or happen upon encounter with the supernatural. Their eyes are opened to reality, but they do not act. Left without hunters' edges (as punishment for cowardice, according to some), but still fully aware of the creatures that prey upon humanity, bystanders are outsiders among outsiders. And yet, not every such person can sit idly by as things that should not be stalk the defenseless.
One bystander has begun to organize others who hesitated. Stephen Lambert has convinced many bystanders, lurkers, ailing or retired hunters and those otherwise unable to continue the fight to join him in gathering evidence of and intelligence on supernatural activity. Many joined his cause when he made his name known to the burgeoning hunter community. He announced his guilt and shame on hunter-net, apparently after failing to stop a walking corpse from attacking and crippling his wife in Manhattan. Despite the warnings posted all over the website, Lambert also revealed his address and phone number to offer what little help he could to any hunters who, in Lambert's words, "do every night what I failed to do just once."
Coordinating a ring of reclusive, paranoid and secretive associates, Lambert gathers any information he can on potential hunter targets and makes that intelligence available to the imbued who dare trust him. He refuses to investigate those who agree to become fellow Moderators (a name reflecting Lambert's hunter-net handle, Moderator87), which makes many hunters wary of Lambert's information. The bystander maintains that individual Moderators' privacy is what allows them to do their work, even if they must keep secrets from their leader himself. To date, no hunters are known to have complained of "bum intel." Of course, Lambert's detractors are quick to point out that if a Moderator gave bad information, there wouldn't be any hunters left to complain. Lambert remains above the fray for the most part, staying out of hunter-net controversies and continuing to offer supernatural reconnaissance where it seems most needed.
Information on how the Moderators operate is spotty at best. Lambert claims to use surveillance equipment "borrowed" from a private investigator. He scours supermarket tabloids for articles that match familiar patterns. He even uses himself as bait for more social predators. He does not answer questions about why he foes to such dangerous (some would say suicidal_ lengths to provide hunters with information. Countless theories (from cheap psychoanalyses to astute observations) abound. Regardless, no other Moderators have come forward to reveal how they gather their information - and, doubtless, many have died developing their methods. Most hunters are content to not ask.
All that is known for sure is the procedure most Moderators have adopted in delivering information. Once sufficient intelligence is gathered on a target, Lambert (or one of his followers) contacts hunters in the area of the disturbance via hunter-net. He invites them to join him in an online chat room or on a persona email list. Once in contact with a potential group, the Moderator disseminates the information, encourages the hunters to meet one another in person, and signs off with the tag-line "For the Weak."
Despite pressure, Lambert refuses to explain the significance of the phrase, though all Moderators use it. Many of the researchers can only guess at what it means. Yet the few core members in regular contact with Lambert agree that he insists on the line being used.
In order to protect Moderator secrecy and safety, Lambert enforces a strict noninterference policy. No Moderator may make face-to-face or phone contact with potential hunters, or with each other. In fact, he is the only one to have stated his name "publicly" since the group's inception. Even the number of Moderators at large is a matter of conjecture, as is the range of the group's scope within and outside its United States base.
References[]
- HTR: Hunter: The Reckoning Rulebook, p. 291-292